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God Is My Helper

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David. [b]When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”

54 O God, save me by (A)Your name,
And render justice to me by (B)Your might.
(C)O God, hear my prayer;
(D)Give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers have (E)risen against me
And (F)ruthless men have (G)sought my [c]life;
They have (H)not set God before them. [d]Selah.

Behold, (I)God is my helper;
The Lord is among those who (J)sustain my soul.
He will (K)return the evil to my foes;
(L)Destroy them (M)in Your truth.

(N)With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You;
I will give (O)thanks to Your name, O Yahweh, for it is good.
For [e]He has (P)delivered me from all [f]distress,
And my eye has (Q)looked in triumph upon my enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54 Title Possibly Contemplative, Didactic, Skillful Psalm
  2. Psalm 54 Title 1 Sam 23:19; 26:1
  3. Psalm 54:3 Or soul
  4. Psalm 54:3 Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo, Musical Interlude
  5. Psalm 54:7 His name; or it
  6. Psalm 54:7 Or trouble

Psalm 54[a]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[b] of David. When the Ziphites(A) had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”

Save me(B), O God, by your name;(C)
    vindicate me by your might.(D)
Hear my prayer, O God;(E)
    listen to the words of my mouth.

Arrogant foes are attacking me;(F)
    ruthless people(G) are trying to kill me(H)
    people without regard for God.[c](I)

Surely God is my help;(J)
    the Lord is the one who sustains me.(K)

Let evil recoil(L) on those who slander me;
    in your faithfulness(M) destroy them.

I will sacrifice a freewill offering(N) to you;
    I will praise(O) your name, Lord, for it is good.(P)
You have delivered me(Q) from all my troubles,
    and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.(R)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54:1 In Hebrew texts 54:1-7 is numbered 54:3-9.
  2. Psalm 54:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 54:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

19 Then (A)Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on (B)the hill of Hachilah, which is on the [a]south of [b]Jeshimon? 20 So now, O king, according to all the desire of your soul to come down, come down here; and (C)our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” 21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed of Yahweh, (D)for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go now, make more sure, and know and see his place—where his very foot is—and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very crafty. 23 So see and know about all the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

24 Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of (E)Maon, in the Arabah to the [c]south of [d]Jeshimon. 25 So Saul and his men went to seek him, and they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul heard it and pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 23:19 Lit right side
  2. 1 Samuel 23:19 Or the desert
  3. 1 Samuel 23:24 Lit right side
  4. 1 Samuel 23:24 Or the desert

19 The Ziphites(A) went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us(B) in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah,(C) south of Jeshimon? 20 Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving(D) him into your hands.”

21 Saul replied, “The Lord bless(E) you for your concern(F) for me. 22 Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23 Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track(G) him down among all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon,(H) in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.(I) 25 Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

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